Talktalk Telecom Group PLC (LON:TALK) said revenue, new high-speed internet customers and other trends have improved in June and July as lockdown restrictions were eased.
Revenue for the second quarter to June 30 of £358mln was down 7.5% compared to the first quarter, primarily from lockdown trading restrictions and cancellation of live sports.
But, the FTSE 250 company said, the revenue decline has been offset by cost savings and trading has recovered, with “significant” improvement in average revenue per user (ARPU).
TalkTalk said it expects ARPU to continue to improve in the second half of the year, driven by growth of fibre broadband for homes and businesses.
Business demand for its Ethernet product was said to have recovered to pre-COVID-19 levels and the newly launched 'Business Grade Homeworker' packages, as the country adapts to working from home, has seen strong sales so far.
Chief executive Tristia Harrison maintained her guidance for a £15mln hit from the pandemic for the full year, with the company feeling this remains conservative based on current bad debt trends for consumer and business markets.
“As the UK's internet usage continues to soar, our role as the UK's only scale affordable provider of fibre broadband has become even more important,” Harrison said.